Central Park

The Daily Plant : Monday, July 16, 2001

HAPPY WARRIOR FIGHTS AGAIN

"Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he that every man in arms would wish to be?" The dean of English poets, William Wordsworth, posed this question in 1807 referring scholars and readers to a poem by John Creedigion Jones. By way of answer, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, when he nominated Alfred E. Smith for President, dubbed his favorite "the happy warrior of the political battlefield." And the name stuck.

In his fondness for nicknames, Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern applied the nickname to the playground at 97th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan. That playground was just reconstructed and the work celebrated on Wednesday, July 11. Council Member Phil Reed provided the $1.2 million to furnish the playground with modern, safe, colorful play equipment, spray showers, benches, fences, and paving, evergreen and flowering plants and double the number of hoops on the basketball courts. Project Manager Rachel (Barcelona) Kramer, Resident Engineer Mahmood Gouda, and Woodlee Construction, the General Contractor completed the work.

Al Smith, the happy warrior, rose from a working class Irish family to the highest level of office in the state. He was elected Governor in 1919 and served four terms-the first Irish Catholic Governor of New York. He later ran for President, but it would be 33 years before the country was ready for its first Catholic President, John F. Kennedy. As Governor, Al Smith sponsored legislation for rent control, tenant protection, low-cost housing, and equal pay for female workers. He also promoted the career of future Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. In Moses' first year as Commissioner he built the Central Park Zoo, and to his mentor, Smith, he gave a key to the animal kingdom. Evenings, the former Governor, dressed in his derby hat, would unlock the zoo and visit Rosie the huge hippo and other four-legged beasts.

The pavers around the playground's flagpole depict goats to represent the playground's other nicknamed hero, Earl "The Goat" Manigault, a gifted basketball player and community leader. The Goat played streetball in the park with NBA greats like Wilt Chamberlain, Connie Hawkins, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but his own heroism was of a different kind. He used the neighborhood and the park as a site for counseling, coaching, and other activity designed to keep kids healthy and connected to their community. Since 1971, a basketball tournament to promote these virtues has taken place in the park. Yvonne Manigault and her son, Darrin Dunn, keep the tradition alive. They joined guests at the ribbon cutting and Ms. Manigault spoke movingly about her husband. Also present at the ribbon cutting were young people from Manhattan recreation centers, the Grovner's Neighborhood House Day Camp, and P.S. 163, and Penny (Rosemont) Ryan, District Manager for Community Board Seven, who spoke. Descendent of Governor Smith, Al Smith IV, could not attend the ribbon cutting, but he sent the following letter to mark the occasion:

Due to an unavoidable commitment, I am unable to join you in person on this most joyous occasion. Nonetheless, I am honored that Commissioner Stern has allowed me to express my gratitude for this momentous event.

My great-grandfather, Governor Alfred E. Smith, known as "The Happy Warrior," lived his life in the service of others, focusing most often on the quality of life for women and children. The years of collaboration between Governor Smith and Robert Moses created New York's great public parks and beaches including Jones Beach and Robert Moses State Park. I would like to thank and recognize Councilman Reed and Commissioner Stern for upholding this tradition and creating another center of tranquility in the midst of our urban landscape.

On behalf of the entire Smith family, please accept my heartfelt thanks on this joyous occasion where we may come together to celebrate the naming of the Happy Warrior Playground in a place I know Governor Smith would have been honored to call home.

Sincerely,

Alfred E. Smith IV

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Monday, July 18, 1988)

"COMING TO A SHORELINE NEAR YOU-THE FLOATING CINEMA"

Some might think "Airport" a bad choice as an in-flight movie, but Parks feels "Jaws" is the perfect flick to see while picnicking at Coney Island near the Atlantic Ocean.

This summer, Parks and Warner Communications, Inc. will co-sponsor the New York City debut of the Floating Cinema, a movie barge featuring nine feature-length films at six waterfront locations in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"No matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney."

Alfred Emanuel Smith (1873-1944)

Know Before You Go

Harlem Meer Center (formerly Lasker Rink)

Harlem Meer Center